HUNTINGTON BEACH : Closure of High School Opposed

Huntington Beach Union High School District Supt. David Hagen has taken a firm stand against closing any of the district’s three high schools to reduce a projected $2.9-million deficit in next year’s budget.

Hagen told a school board meeting last week that many residents in the district had recommended closing a school as one way of balancing the budget. But Hagen said he is very much opposed to shutting any of the high schools in the district’s three-city area.

“Closing a school would not be in the best interests of the students or of the community,” Hagen said.

The district operates all the public high schools in Huntington Beach, Westminster and Fountain Valley. Pupil enrollment has dropped from a high of about 21,000 in the late 1970s to about 13,000. Income to the district has plunged because state school funding is based on enrollment.

The school district faces a $2-million loss next fall because of continued declining enrollment and an additional $900,000 loss from interest on money in the county’s bankrupt investment pool. This year the school district’s budget is about $78 million.

Hagen has proposed many spending cuts next year, including a reduction in employee health benefits, to make up for the $2.9-million deficit. A public hearing on the proposed cuts and a vote by the school board will be held at 7:30 p.m. March 14.